The reason so many gardeners love to make raised garden beds is because the benefits are almost endless and they are fast and easy to make; in fact they take about 10 minutes.
But before we show you how easy it is
Here are some of the benefits:
1. Raised garden beds are great for any kind of early crops, root crops, or heat-loving crops. This is because a raised or elevated bed stays eight to ten degrees warmer than soil at ground level which peppers and tomaotes love.
2. Raised beds drain really well, so this means they dry out faster too, which is OK because the soil is never soggy and the plants do better.
3. Raised vegetables stay cleaner and have fewer disease problems because they don’t get mud splatter when watered or rained upon.
4. A raised bed doubles the depth of loose, crumbly soil so these beds grow the best root crops such as onion, garlic, carrot, and turnips.
5. Raised beds are ideal if you have heavy clay soil.
6. They are also the best for wide row planting because kneeling next to raised beds to plant, care for, or harvest your crops is easier on your back because the plants are higher and easier to reach.
7. The soil in raised beds never gets compacted because you never walk upon it. So the soil stays loose and friable.
Just What Is A Raised Garden Bed?
Now often when the term “raised garden bed” is used, many people think of a large wooden box or a rock or brick outlined container that is raised up.
That’s not what we are talking about. To see how we are going to make our raised garden bed, see the picture at the beginning of this post.
How To Make A Raised Garden Bed
1. You can make your raised bed 16 inches to 24 inches wide (41 to 61 cm) and as long as you want or have space for. It’s up to you.
2. Go down one side of the bed and pull up loose soil into the middle portion of the row. Then switch sides so now you are standing in the area where you took the soil, and pull more soil up and into the middle part of the row.
3. Form the seed bed by lightly dragging your rake down the center forming a flat surface on top of the mound. The raised bed is now about 8 to 9 inches (20 to 23 cm) tall and ready to plant. (For an example see the picture at the beginning of this post)
That’s all there is to making a raised garden bed – so simple!
If you have never used raised beds in your garden, try a couple this year. Once you experience the difference, you’ll never go back to regular rows ever again!
source:
GARDENING TIPS l
GARDEN DESIGN l
Hoa Kieng
